Masmuda

The Masmuda ( Central Atlas Tamazight ⵉⵎⴰⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ Imasmouden , Arabic مصمودة, DMG Maṣmūda ) were next to the Zanata and Sanhadscha one of the large tribal groups of the Berbers in the Maghreb .

history

The Masmuda populated large parts of Morocco , were mainly sedentary and farmed. Numerous Masmuda (e.g. the Banū Dānis ) had already settled in al-Andalus (Spain) in the 8th century .

The residence of the Masmuda princes was Aghmat at the foot of the High Atlas (30 km from Marrakech ). Since the 10th century, Berber groups of the Sanhajah and Zanata invaded the settlement areas of the Masmuda. These were followed by Arab Bedouins since the 11th century (see: Banu Hilal ).

Ibn Tumart united the Masmuda tribes at the beginning of the 12th century and founded the Almohad movement , which subsequently united the entire Maghreb and Andalusia . After the fall of the Almohads, however, particularism prevailed again between the Masmuda tribes, so that they lost their political significance and were Arabized. Remaining groups of the Masmuda are the Haha around Algiers . Other groups have merged into the Schluh / Schlöh tribe in the High Atlas.

literature

• Stephan Ronart, Nandy Ronart: Lexicon of the Arab World. A historical-political reference work. Artemis Verlag, Zurich et al. 1972, ISBN 3-7608-0138-2 .